Chocolate arrived in France in the 17th century, by way of Spain. The occasion for the debut? The marriage of Anne of Austria and Louis XIII. Anne of Austria was the Infanta (daughter of the ruling monarch) of Spain, where the royal court had been enjoying chocolate since it was imported from the New World in the 1500s.
It wasn’t until the reign of the next Louis (XIV, the “Sun King”) that chocolate became fashionable at the French royal court. This decadent treat found its way into the extravagant cuisine of Versailles, presented in a wide variety of recipes.
The succeeding king of France, Louis XV was particularly fond of chocolate in the form of a beverage. This king and his mistress, the Comtesse du Barry, drank hot chocolate for its purported aphrodisiac benefits as well as its delicious taste.
Special serving vessels (called chocolatières in French) were used during the era of Louis XV to prepare hot chocolate. The pitcher’s tall and narrow shape allowed the cook to stir the hot chocolate vigorously with a long spoon. This technique was designed to create a frothy beverage similar to lightly whipped cream.
The hot chocolate recipe listed below comes from La M͏aiso͏n du͏ Cho͏cola͏t: Transcendent Desserts by the Legendary Chocolatier cookbook b͏y Robert L͏inxe, the ͏chocolatie͏r/entrepre͏neur who e͏stablished͏ the renow͏ned La Mai͏son du Cho͏colat bout͏iques in P͏aris.
Try making this hot chocolate with or without cinnamon. Either way, you will produce exceptional hot chocolate, worthy of royalty. Louis XIII, XIV, and XV would approve!
Copyright © Lisa Alexander 2023. All Rights Reserved.
Cinnamon͏ Hot Cho͏colate
Recipe from La Maison du Chocolat cookbook by Robert Linxe
Ingred͏ients
- 3.5 ounces (100g) Valrhona Guanaja 70% chocolate bar or "feves" (small chocolate pieces)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 ͏cup ͏wate͏r ͏
- 1 1/4 tablespoons Valrhona cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 3 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Finely chop the chocolate bar. If you are using feve͏s, then you will not need to chop the chocolate because the feves are easy to melt.
- In a saucepan, combine the milk, water, cocoa powder, and cinnamon sticks.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.
- Pour through a fine-mesh strainter into another saucepan.
- Allow to cool slightly, stirring occasionally.
- Serve hot chocolate while warm but not boiling hot.
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